Let’s face it: you can’t just ask your workers point-blank if they’re planning to leave your company. (Well, you can, but it won’t win you any fans.) What you can do is monitor the state of your workplace to see if it’s setting the stage for a mass exodus.

Employee engagement surveys are an easy way to keep your finger on the pulse of your workforce. By using regular, anonymous surveys, you’ll be able to get an honest assessment of your employees’ happiness.

Here are 9 great questions that get right to the heart of the issues that affect retention.

Evaluating Their Peers

The first group of questions focuses on how employees feel about their coworkers, who are the number one reason motivating them to go the extra mile at work. There’s a very strong correlation between employee happiness and their rating of coworkers, so you can’t know if your workers are happy at work unless you know if they’re happy with their peers.

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how connected do you feel to your coworkers?

Connection with coworkers means your employees are a true team who will support one another and inspire each other to go above and beyond. Low responses should be a red flag.

2. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our organization's team-building efforts?

It’s up to the leaders in a company to make sure that their employees build a strong team. Whether it’s arranging orientation activities for new hires or organizing after-work happy hours for the team, you can make camaraderie happen.

3. Do we have the right people on our team?

Putting together your team shouldn’t be left to chance. You need to be deliberate in whom you hire, making sure they fit with the organizational culture. This question gives your employees the opportunity to tell you if you’re recruiting the right people.

Evaluating Their Work

This next group puts the focus on how employees feel about the work they do. According to our 2015 TINYpulse Best Industry Ranking Report, two of the top drivers of employee happiness are feeling excited about their work projects and growing professionally.

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, do you feel like you'll have the opportunity to reach your full potential at our organization?

Employees can’t develop if there isn’t room to grow. Find out if they see that potential in their job, because if they don’t, you might be on the verge of losing them.

5. What's your proudest personal accomplishment at our organization?

Just having accomplishments that they’re proud of is a good sign. Beyond that, pay attention to what they list—it’ll help tell you where you should focus your energy in creating new opportunities.

6. Do you feel challenged at work on a daily basis?

Easy work isn’t engaging. If your employees are pushed to grow and learn (and given the support they need to do that), they’ll be excited about their jobs.

7. Do you feel that you have a clear idea on how our company is performing?

Open and transparent communication means sharing important information about the company with all of its members. If you only tell people on a need-to-know basis, then you won’t inspire your employees’ trust.

8. Does your management team set clear company goals?

Company goals and performance go hand in hand. Just as employees need to know how the company is doing, they need to know where it’s going. Company goals will shape the expectations your employees are held to, so don’t leave them in the dark.

9. On a scale of 1 to 10, how effective is your organization at offering help when you ask for it?

Obviously, if employees don’t think they can expect help from their company, they won’t consider their leadership supportive. If they don’t feel your commitment to them, they won’t be committed to you.

If you receive any concerning answers from these survey questions, then it’s time to take action so you can keep your employees from walking out the door.